


A Dignified Woman

by My_Alter_Ego



Category: White Collar
Genre: Gen, Malicious Gossip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:20:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27505975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/My_Alter_Ego/pseuds/My_Alter_Ego
Summary: Neal is only too happy to be June’s plus one at a charity event. He finds out that he is going to be a tool in her belt that night, but he really doesn’t mind in the least.
Relationships: Neal Caffrey & June Ellington
Comments: 13
Kudos: 74





	A Dignified Woman

Neal hadn’t been living with June Ellington for very long when she asked a favor of her boarder.

“Neal, Darling, I have a request, and, of course, you may feel free to decline,” she began slowly.

“How can I ever deny you anything, June?” Neal smiled. “You’re my savior, my port in the storm, and I love you for being you.”

June bestowed a fond look on her young houseguest. “Well, I hate to sound needy, but I require an escort for the upcoming charity ball at the Javits Center. I am being honored by the Mayor for my philanthropic work in various hospitals throughout the city.”

“It would be my pleasure and privilege to be your plus one,” Neal quickly answered. “Black tie, I assume?”

“Of course, and I know what a dashing figure you cut in a tuxedo,” June laughed. “We’ll certainly have tongues wagging when we make the scene. New York is full of old biddies who like to look down their noses at those they consider to be upstarts.”

“Is the crème de la crème of the society page really that petty?” Neal frowned.

“Oh, Sweetheart, you have no idea. Those self-entitled divas can resemble a Lois Vuitton satchel full of vipers with their fangs out when they feel that a less worthy person has outshined them.”

“Is it personal because they know your backstory?” Neal asked a logical question.

June shrugged indifferently. “Perhaps, but I think not. They wouldn’t go to all the trouble to ferret out my secrets that were buried long ago. Besides, after Byron went to prison, it was a sobering ‘Come To Jesus’ moment for him. When he was released, he used our acquired ill-gotten gains to spin a protective cocoon of tasteful civility around our family. We bought this grand house and sent our children to the best schools. I did my part by becoming a tireless volunteer who espoused every benevolent cause while enduring stares and derisive remarks that were cloaked in the guise of innocent chatter. I can’t tell you how many times I heard phrases like, _‘Oh, my goodness, June, did I offend you? How clumsy of me!’_ It was tedious then and it is still tedious now.”

“Then why do you even subject yourself to people like that?” Neal was confused. “You’re a dignified lady, so why sit on charity boards with snide harridans who insult you?”

June smiled. “Let me share a little secret, Darling. You may see a dignified woman, but that woman is not above rubbing salt into wounds or poking sticks into big egos.”

“Revenge for past slights—I get that,” Neal agreed.

“It runs much deeper than just petty payback against simpering doyennes, Neal. You are quite young, so you don’t know what it was once like for a woman of color born in a time when certain lines were not to be crossed. People with my skin tone were raised to know our place and never aspire to be anything more than what was our preconceived station in life. Maybe I was content with my lot in life until I met Byron. Now, that man had dreams and the innate intelligence and guile to make them happen, sort of like you. Our rise up the ladder may not have been dignified, but we arrived at the pinnacle of the mountain, just the same.”

“So, are you saying that your pedigree is the problem—being Black instead of blue and not being able to claim that any of your relatives came over on the Mayflower?” Neal asked quietly.

“My Dear Boy, the upper echelons know it would be gauche to say it out loud. They’d never want anyone to accuse them of bigotry, so they attack with innuendo and seemingly innocent but cutting remarks. You’d have to be an idiot not to get the subtext beneath their words.”

Neal found himself grinning. “Let me guess—you’ve decided to go rogue and give them something to talk about, and that something is me, a virile, handsome young stud glued to your side.”

“Now you’re getting the method to my madness,” June grinned her own little evil smile.

“Well, we can’t have the idle rich remaining idle. So, let’s give them something to gossip about,” Neal laughed.

~~~~~~~~~~

That Saturday night, Neal escorted a stunningly beautiful and regal lady in a Chanel inspired gown through the doors of the huge convention center. He moved gracefully down the receiving line with her, glad-handing some very important government people who oversaw the welfare of the Big Apple. Neal couldn’t help wondering how they would react if they knew they were shaking hands with a felon—also one of New York’s highbrow movers and shakers, but in quite a different way.

Neal never left June’s side during the cocktail hour. He made sure she always had a champagne flute in her gloved hand, and he brought her little plates of delicate canapes to nibble. Later, he politely pulled out her chair when they were shown to the table of honor, and their heads were close together most of the evening making it appear that they were besotted with one another sharing secrets only they knew.

The inseparable pair sat through the long-winded speeches until Neal found himself beaming as June rose to graciously accept her accolades and a small silver engraved plaque that marked her tireless efforts on behalf of the disabled and the sick. Her speech was short and sincere as she claimed it was a privilege to be just a small impetus for healing those who were hurting. When she returned to her seat, Neal pulled her to him and gently kissed her cheek.

“You were great, June,” Neal whispered in approval. “Now let’s take it to the next level. I believe the band is playing our song, beautiful lady, so may I have the honor of this dance?”

June was game and she let Neal swirl her around the parquet floor, a bit surprised that one so young knew how to waltz like Fred Astaire. When the music was slower, she closed her eyes and put her hand on his back and pulled him closer, almost into an embrace. If she let herself be fanciful, it was almost like dancing with Byron again.

Although the mind was willing, a tired body was telling June, in no uncertain terms, that it was time to call it a night. Like Cinderella, she found herself wanting to return home before midnight so she could swap out her glass slippers for fluffy mules.

“Darling, after I visit the ladies room, perhaps we can go home,” she smiled at her escort.

“Of course,” Neal readily agreed. “I’ll tell the valet to bring the Rolls around to the front door.”

The convention center had huge bathrooms with rows of cubicles and sinks, and there were even comfortable anterooms with wrap-around mirrors and cushioned chairs for those who simply wished to check their coiffures or reapply their makeup. June had just stepped from a stall and was washing her hands when her ears picked up snatches of conversation in the outer room.

“She should be ashamed for making such a spectacle of herself!” a female voice hissed.

“That woman doesn’t know the meaning of discretion,” another voice agreed.

“I mean, really! That young man was devilishly handsome, but is he even old enough to vote?” the first voice sniped.

“Now, let’s be charitable. Maybe he’s her grandson,” voice number two offered an opinion.

“Oh please! You don’t act so possessive and starry-eyed like that with a grandchild. I’ll bet he’s a paid escort. Lord knows, she rolling in money, so she can afford to hire the very best,” was the tawdry remark. “There’s no way he’s spending the night. He’ll collect his money and head for the hills as soon as she walks through the doors of that ostentatious mansion she owns.”

“Maybe not,” the first voice stage-whispered. “I heard Agnes Fitzhugh tell Katherine Wellington that she saw him come down the stairs in June’s house when she stopped by to go over the items that were donated for the Junior League’s white elephant auction table. So, it seems that he really does live with her.”

“How vulgar!” exclaimed a horrified matron. “I wonder how much money she gives him as an allowance to be a kept gigolo. Doesn’t she have any sense of decorum?”

June had heard enough of the malicious slander, and she sashayed regally into the room. “Beatrice, Mavis,” she acknowledged both women as she looked them in the eye, one after the other. “Please let me enlighten you so that any gossip you deem to pass on will be accurate,” she continued with her own little smarmy smile firmly in place.

“Yes, Neal does live with me and that was his choice just minutes after he met me. Undeniably, that beautiful young man could have chosen to be with any number of eager, gorgeous, and nubile females in New York. However, the truth is, he chose to be with me, and he’s a breath of fresh air in a world filled with the narrow-minded and judgmental. It’s really very simple, my dears. I love him and he has said that he loves me. But let me be very clear—I do not pay him a penny to enjoy my company. In fact, when you pass this tidbit along the grapevine, make sure that your fellow gossip mongers are made aware that it is I who am continually rewarded for allowing him to tuck his shoes under my antique tiger oak bed. Now, my inquisitive _friends_ , you have fodder to sow, so I’ll leave you to it and bid you a goodnight.”

Neal was waiting to take June’s arm as he helped her into the limousine idling at the curb. “Everything go okay?” he asked curiously as he took in June’s look of smug satisfaction.

“Yes, Darling, it certainly did. In fact, everything went fabulously, although I may have created a rather raunchy reputation for you.”

“No worries,” Neal shrugged. “I’ve already got one of those.”

Suddenly two friends, who cared deeply for one another, burst out in raucous laughter.


End file.
